THOOTHUKUDI: “I believe the people of Tiruchendur will repeat the verdict given by them in the 1983 by-election conducted here, when the AIADMK thrashed its opponents under my poll guidance”, was the opening remark of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa at Punnakayal, amidst thundering applause in the fishermen-dominated coastal village.
Recalling the 1983 Tiruchendur by-election, she said that MGR entrusted poll duty to her to check her ability to be in active politics.
“By then, I was the propaganda secretary of AIADMK and I carried on a vigorous campaign throughout the constituency without sparing any place”, she recalled.
The AIADMK leader used the proposed Marine Fisheries Bill as a weapon to canvass votes among the fishermen-dominated masses in Tiruchendur, wherein she said that AIADMK’s stand is that the Bill should never be passed.
“Karunanidhi, who has so far been unmindful of the problems posed by the Fisheries Bill, has been enacting a drama and is trying to make people believe that the Bill will be repealed in this parliamentary session”, she said.
She warned that the Bill will be passed with the support of the Chief Minister in the following parliamentary sessions.
Jayalalithaa strongly castigated the DMK for necessitating this by-election through treachery. “He (Anita S Radhakrishnan) submitted himself to the evil powers to safeguard his interest”, she said.
Listing out the achievements of AIADMK government, she said that Christian Nadars were included in the BC category through her efforts and added that the Minorities Welfare Board was created by the AIADMK government.